Commentary

Jul. 26, 2019 | 12:15 AM

The U.S. needs to talk about China

US President Donald Trump (R) talks to China's President Xi Jinping in front of US First Lady Melania Trump (2nd L) as they arrive for a state dinner at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on November 9, 2017. AFP / POOL / THOMAS PETER

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Of all the changes in U.S. foreign policy President Donald Trump's administration has made, the most consequential is the adoption of a confrontational stance toward China.

It is not just Trump: For the U.S. national security establishment and leading Republican members of Congress -- as well as some Democrats -- China represents the most serious long-term threat to America's global preeminence and vital interests.

U.S. tariffs may be focused on undermining China's long-term economic potential, but the underlying motivation is to weaken China as a strategic rival.

There is, to be sure, widespread antipathy toward China throughout the United States: According to the Pew Research Center's most recent survey on the matter (conducted in August 2018), only 38 percent of Americans view China favorably, while 47 percent view it unfavorably.

Though the trade war has been dominating headlines since it began, much of the American public is unaware of the extent of the transformation in U.S. policy toward China, which exposes their country to an open-ended conflict with what will soon be the world's largest economy and its leading emerging power.

Can the U.S. embrace a policy of confrontation toward China without precluding collaboration on issues where it is required?